New Jersey FUSRAP Sites

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The currently active New Jersey sites within the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) are DuPont & Company, Maywood, Middlesex Sampling Plant, New Brunswick, and Wayne. Completed FUSRAP sites in New Jersey are Kellex/Pierpont and the Middlesex Municipal Landfill. For a brief discussion of these sites and the remedial actions undertaken at them, refer to the FUSRAP narrative in the Tennessee section of this report. FUSRAP was established in 1974 under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act to identify, investigate, and clean up or otherwise control previously decontaminated Manhattan Engineer District and Atomic Energy Commission sites where residual radioactive contamination exceeds current guidelines, and other sites assigned to the U.S. Department of Energy by Congress.

The New Jersey FUSRAP sites do not share any common elements other than Department of Energy ownership of the Maywood Interim Storage site, the Wayne Interim Storage site, the Middlesex Sampling Plant, and the New Brunswick site. The Maywood and Wayne sites have separate Federal Facilities Agreements, to which the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency are signatories. The Department of Energy is using the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act process to identify the appropriate remedy for each of the sites. Although FUSRAP is striving for consistency in the decisionmaking process for all sites, each site's unique conditions, characteristics, and process of sharing information with stakeholders require site­specific environmental analysis.

FUSRAP encompasses 46 sites in 14 states and is funded through the Oak Ridge Operations Office. For a general discussion of FUSRAP and associated costs, see the overview of the program presented in the Tennessee section of this report. All costs for waste management activities, program management, and relevant landlord activities attributable to the Department of Energy are provided for within the scope of environmental restoration. No FUSRAP sites have either current or planned nuclear material and facility stabilization activity needs. Funding for all sites is 100 percent nondefense.

DuPONT & COMPANY

The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (DuPont) site is located in the Townships of Pennsville and Carneys Point on the southeastern shore of the Delaware River, adjacent to the residential community of Deepwater, New Jersey. The site is bordered on the north by another DuPont property referred to as the Carneys Works, on the east by U.S. Route 130, on the south by Salem Canal, and on the west by the Delaware River, across from Wilmington, Delaware

LOCALITY MAP

FACILITY MISSION

The DuPont Chambers Works plant is an active chemical plant that manufactures primarily organic chemicals. In the 1940s, DuPont conducted research involving uranium hexafluoride, first for the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development and later under contract to the Manhattan Engineer District and the Atomic Energy Commission. Operations involving uranium began in 1942; research for the Atomic Energy Commission continued until late 1947.

DuPont conducted activities for the Manhattan Engineer District and Atomic Energy Commission in six separate areas onsite: Building 845, the central drainage ditch, the F Corral parking area (former location of Building 708), the Building J­26 area, the east burial area, and Lagoon A. Manhattan Engineer District activities were conducted in three buildings, but only Building 845 remains; it is now a warehouse for miscellaneous storage.

In 1945, part of Building 708 was demolished and removed from the site. The remainder of the building was removed in 1953, along with several feet of underlying soil, all of which was disposed of in the Lagoon A area.

In 1948 and 1949, the Atomic Energy Commission conducted radiological surveys and decontamination activities at the site. Decontamination included sandblasting, vacuuming, and washing building surfaces. The Atomic Energy Commission released the buildings to DuPont in 1949, based on existing criteria. After the site was released, DuPont demolished Building J­16 and disposed of it in the Lagoon A area. A new building, J­26, now stands in its place.

The east burial area contains some equipment that was used in building demolition, various chemical waste, and small amounts of State-approved low-level radioactive material.

The central drainage ditch is located approximately where it was in the 1940s. The primary purpose of the ditch is to carry residual wastes from chemical operations. Residual wastes from Building 845 were discharged into a wooden trough east of the building. The trough dumped the waste into the ditch approximately 45 meters (150 feet) north of Building 845. The ditch flows to the northeast, adjacent to the northwestern corner of Building 845, and drains into the eastern corner of Lagoon A. The composite from Lagoon A is then pumped into the onsite water treatment facility for chemical processing of the waste.

Today, the site is an operating chemical plant, and the Department of Energy has no onsite presence.

FUTURE USE

The site is expected to continue to be used in an industrial/commercial capacity as a chemical processing facility.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

The Atomic Energy Commission conducted limited restoration at the site during the 1948 and 1949 decontamination effort. Additional remedial action, as required for the site to meet current guidelines, will be conducted. Key regulators for the site include Environmental Protection Agency Region II, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the local health department.

During future remediation, the Department of Energy will use construction equipment to excavate contaminated soils. It will restore the areas after excavation and verification that the cleanup meets guidelines. Further decontamination of Building 845 through washing, scrubbing, and vacuuming areas of concern will also be necessary.

The total volume of low-level radioactive waste from the cleanup is estimated at 6,325 cubic meters (8,270 cubic yards), which, under current plans, will be consolidated for permanent onsite storage. The Department of Energy will conduct a maintenance and monitoring program for two years after remedial action is complete. It is assumed that the property owner will take over these responsibilities at that time.

Major Environmental Restoration Activity Milestones

TASK	COMPLETION DATE Fiscal Year
Assessment Remedial Action	2003 2004

ASSESSMENT

Although the Atomic Energy Commission conducted limited site restoration during the 1948-1949 decontamination effort, additional remedial work will be required for the site to meet current guidelines. A radiological survey in 1977 revealed elevated concentrations of uranium in rubble from the operations building and in some surface and subsurface soil samples. Alpha and beta-gamma contamination levels in some areas of Building 845 exceeded present federal guidelines. However, under current site use, employees working at the site are not exposed to radiation doses appreciably different from normal background levels. Under different conditions of use, such as actions involving agitation or abrasion of dry contaminated surfaces, employees and the public could be exposed to low-level radiation.

A 1983 survey showed radioactive contamination exceeding current guidelines in Building 845, the central drainage ditch, the F Corral parking area, and the east burial area. In soil and water samples, the major contaminant was uranium­238. In some areas, subsurface contamination was detected at depths greater than 2.7 meters (9 feet). Because of the high water table at the site, contamination at depths below the saturation zone could not be quantified. Based on these radiological surveys, the Department of Energy determined in 1989 that the DuPont site warranted further remedial action.

REMEDIAL ACTION

Although portions of the site were remediated before Department of Energy involvement, additional remediation is required to ensure compliance with current guidelines. The scenario used for the Baseline Environmental Management Report cost estimate assumes excavation of contaminated soils, further remediation of Building 845, and disposal of waste by consolidation and capping onsite. The cost estimate assumes a total waste volume of 6,325 cubic meters (8,270 cubic yards). Remedial action will involve excavating contaminated material from the exterior areas of the site and decontaminating and demolishing Building 845. Open areas that are designated to be excavated will be cleared. Brush and roots removed from each area will be washed at the site's decontamination area and radiologically surveyed. Contaminated soil will be excavated to predetermined depths, based on the radiological survey and chemical characterization data. The excavated area will be resurveyed to determine whether additional excavation will be necessary to meet remedial action guidelines.

After excavation is completed, elevations and dimensions of the final cut will be determined. Deep excavations may require a dewatering well point system or a well sump. Appropriate water treatment and holding basins will be necessary to allow excavation of this waste. The Department will fully restore excavated areas; it will restore paved areas to accommodate vehicle traffic for which they were originally designed, and it will fill and grade other areas with clean, compacted soil. The Department will also restore fences and utility lines to their condition immediately before remedial action or to a condition acceptable to the property owner.

The Department plans to consolidate all waste for permanent storage onsite. If this is the final remedy, transportation of waste will not be required. If all waste and residues collected [estimated at 6,325 cubic meters (8,285.75 cubic yards)] are consolidated in an onsite engineered waste containment area, this containment area will be constructed of a clay liner envelope structure that meets Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy requirements for low-level radioactive waste and for mixed waste, if present.

The Department of Energy will conduct a maintenance and monitoring program for two years after remedial action is complete. During that period, the Department will monitor ground water, air, surface water, and external gamma radiation in accordance with applicable regulations. This report assumes that at the end of the two-year period the property owner will take over these responsibilities.

FUNDING ESTIMATE

The following table presents estimated funding information for the DuPont & Company site.